Christmas is upon us. 10 proposals that will surprise us this season

The great French chefs are beginning to present their proposals for Christmas. And like every year, they surprise us with ingenious creations, some funny, others impressive and all, without exception, with a connection to this typically sweet time.

1. The great toy by Pierre Marcolini. For his 2016 Christmas collection, Marcolini, with the collaboration of Belgian artist Charles Kaisin, combines cones, circles and triangles to form pieces full of fantasy. In this line, we find “The great toy”, measuring 28 cm tall, assembled in black and white chocolate with two boxes filled with small praline and caramel balls, plus candied fruit and nougatine coated with dark chocolate or milk chocolate. // www.eu.marcolini.com

2. LAC Chocolatier. La Canadienne. La Maison Lac, included in the list of “essentials” of the famous Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat, presents a Christmas log made of maple syrup, crunchy almonds, caramel, frozen pear, and a soft maple mousse. // www.patisserie-lac.com

3. Pascal Caffet. Féérique. A log full of curves with sweet and sour notes which give it a very interesting flavor. Prepared with a pâte sucrée and franginpane cream. Dacquois almond cookie, Naples chestnut cream, and Madagascan vanilla Bourbon mousse. // www.pascal-caffet.com

4. The Paris-Brest signed by Mandard in Les Artizans. Les Artizans, the place in Paris where you can taste Patrick Canal’s bistro cuisine and Mathieu Mandard’s pastry, dessert champion in France, proposes this Paris-brest for Christmas, with choux filled with Piemonte hazelnut cream, Madagascan vanilla coulant, and caramelized pecan nuts. // www.lesartizans.fr

5. Claire Damon. Innitiales CD. In this elegant bûche, the owner of Des gateaux et du pain successfully mixes the aroma of freshly cut hay, compote made with hand-picked wild cranberries in Auvergne, and melilot croucant. // www.desgateauxetdupain.com

6. La Maison du Chocolat’s limited edition spruce. Nicolas Cloiseau’s typically Christmas collection is full, as he says, of extravagances. A clear example is this majestic spruce, completely handmade and limited edition of 75 cm and 7.7 kg. Six different chocolate couvertures declined in 25 unique plates 3 mm thick make up the body of the tree. With satin finishes, powdered cocoa, varnished or gilded with fine gold. // www.lamaisonduchocolat.com

7. Christophe Adam and his 7 Dwarfs. Who doesn’t remember the story of Snow White? The inventive Adam has created his chocolate version of the Seven Dwarfs, ideal for gifts and for making Christmas celebrations more fun. // www.christopheadam.com

8. Ladurée. Snow is here! Sometimes the most exciting thing about Christmas is the preparation. With this thought, Claire Heitzel, chef of Création Ladurée, has developed a dessert in the form of snowflakes. Composed of coconut dacquoise covered with mango passion, a vanilla-pineapple brunoise and coconut mousse. // www.laduree.com

9. Pierre Hermé. Calendar of the Kingdom of the Sun and the Moon. Designed by Nicolas Buffe, the limited-edition advent calendar tells the story of the Kingdom of the Sun and the Moon; the respective lands of King Zeno, Queen Selena and her children. A saga inspired by fairy tales, baroque, and pop culture. A piece of chocolate covered fruit, a mendicant chocolate, a delicious confectionery treat of the Maison, to be discovered each day of December until Christmas Eve. // www.pierreherme.com

10. Snowball. Marike Van Beurden. From Hong Kong we have this advance of the Christmas campaign, Marike Van Beurden (so good # 15), who has presented this sweet and gimmicky snowy tartlet. The interior delights us with multiple textures featuring pine nuts and clementines. // www.marikevanbeurden.com